Long story short for those who aren’t familiar, the Pomodoro Technique calls for alternating cycles of “work” and “rest” — such as 20 minutes of work followed by 10 minutes of rest, repeated indefinitely. It works by forcing you to focus on one task at a time (because multitasking is actually counterproductive).

While there are apps specifically designed to aid with Pomodoro time-keeping, the technique can be done with any regular timer or stopwatch. But an even better method is to use pre-built music playlists in lieu of timers: work while the music plays and rest when it ends.

How is this effective? Studies have shown that music — as long as it’s smooth, soft, and without any lyrics — can help with concentration. The benefit of that is obvious, but a music playlist also makes it easy to know how far into a Pomodoro you are. No need to check the timer and break your concentration in the process.